Dumfries and Galloway to Lose Millions in EU Funding

A new online database had laid the bare the cost to Dumfries and Galloway of the UK’s exit from the European Union.

The online tool shows that the EU has invested upwards of £90 million in the area across a wide range of sectors including education, research, employment and young people.

Perhaps the most damning statistic is that the region is set to miss out on heavy EU investment in agriculture. In 2017, the bloc spent £82,480,719 to support 2,006 farmers around Dumfries and Galloway.

Local SNP MSP Joan McAlpine said:

“Dumfries and Galloway has been well served by our membership of the EU. The figures do not lie. This is why Scotland voted so decisively to remain.

“But our wishes have been entirely ignored by the UK Government. Their reckless agenda will hurt the people and communities that are protected by continued EU investment.

“Dumfries and Galloway is a largely rural economy. How can the loss of £82 million investment into farming be anything but damaging? The UK Government has provided no clarity as to how this will be replaced.

“We are being dragged out of the European Union against our will;Dumfries and Galloway and Scotland will suffer because of it.”

The EU invests around £5billion a year in the UK, and the European single market is around eight times bigger than the UK internal market.

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